1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a calcium channel antagonist capable of inhibiting intrusion of calcium into cells which possesses an inhibitory action against secretion of parathyroid hormones, an agent (a medicament ) for promoting absorption and utlization of calcium into human body as well as a process for preparing the antagonist and the agent and also to a calcium preparation wherein a calcium material has been incorporated with the calcium channel antagonist for enhancing effective utilization of the calcium value. More particularly, the present invention relate to a calcium channel antagonist possessing an inhibitory action against secretion of parathyroid hormones which comprises an acid extract of a calciferous (calcium-containing) material of plant origin baked in a specific manner, an agent (medicament) for promoting absorption and utilization of calcium as well as a process for preparation thereof, and a calcium preparation wherein a known calcium preparation has been incorporated with the calcium channel antagonist.
As is evident from the foregoing description, the calcium channel antagonist of the present invention is effective as a single substance for attaining dual purpose of inhibiting secretion of parathyroid hormones and promoting absorption and utilization of calcium in human body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well recognized that calcium is one of the indispensable constituents for the formation of bones and teeth of mammalia including human. In recent years, it has become manifested, not only the above recognition, that calcium is one of the most important nutritive substances sustaining all of the living phenomena. Accordingly, calcium is now being watched among research staffs in the far front of the medical field.
As an example of this fact, a variety of studies on calcium paradox are reported under the title of "Contact Point of Dietetics with Cytobiology" in a Japanese magazine entitled "Clinical Calcium", Special Edition, `Calcium Paradox`, January 1996 published by Medicinal Journal Co.
According to these medical articles, a great number of functions attained by calcium in human body have been made clear. Above all, a key of human health has now become impossible to consider without the relation between calcium and parathyroid hormones.
Reported heretofore is that the living action of human including digestion, absorption and excretion of foods; synthesis and internal secretion of hormones; immunization mechanism; function of looking at everything; function of thinking about everything; and other all functions depends on the action of calcium in such manner that all of the cells are controlled by the signal (information) emitted from calcium in blood and working of heart and brain is caused by the action of calcium.
According to this report, it is necessary that the concentration of calcium in blood has to be maintained at all times at a definite level in order that cells may function normally. It has also been made clear that a difference in concentration of calcium between the inside and outside of cells (in blood) has to be maintained at about 1:10,000.
To say it in another way, the concentration of calcium inside cells has to be kept at 1/10,000 of that outside cells in order that the signal emitted from calcium may correctly be caught. So far as the difference in concentration is kept, the individual cells can act their rolls according to the correctly transmitted information.
In case the concentration of calcium in blood is decreased, working of heart and brain will be ceased to cause death. In order to prevent such deleterious or rather fatal result, human body is naturally designed to have parathyroid hormones worked for dissolving calcium from bones into blood to maintain life. In human body, 99% of calcium is stored in bones. If dissolution of calcium from bones continues and goes too far, solid bones will become spongy to cause osteoporosis. What is more, continuous dissolution of calcium incurs a detrimental influence on human body in that although action of heart is not ceased and life is thus maintained by augmenting blood with calcium, excess calcium brought over in cells by internal secretion of parathyroid hormones incurs considerable overbalance of calcium concentration inside and outside the cells, thus disturbing intercellular transmission of information to lose normal action of the cells. This phenomenon is called calcium paradox which is a disease caused by a series of phenomena; (I) shortage of calcium, (II) depression of calcium concentration in blood, and (III ) secretion of parathyroid hormones capable of increasing calcium in cells. This calcium paradox exhibits the following symptoms: headache, dementia, cataract, anemia, hypertension/apoplexy, deafness, hypotension, stiff shoulder, immunodeficiency, osteoporosis, stress, arterosclerosis/cardiac infarctio, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, infectios disease/cold, pneumonia, cancer, allergy/atopy, renal calculus, prostatomegaly, weak nail, hepatitis/cirrhosis, neuralgia, chronic articular rheumatism, and arthritis
By increase of calcium in cells is meant that the cells get ill and go to aging. If calcium is continuously increased, cells sustaining life will decease, inducing death of human life as a matter of course.
For human body consisting of about 60 trillion cells, calcium is one of the indispensable nutrients sustaining not only bones but also living action of all tissues including heart and brain and always has to be supplemented externally as an important nutritive component lest it should become short.
Notwithstanding calcium is such an important nutritive component, it is a current status that our dietary life is recently dependent on processed foods and our intake ratio of calcium is not said to be sufficient.
In the event foods is short of calcium, the content of calcium in body becomes smaller and moreover a balance of calcium saved at a definite rate in cells, blood, and bones will be lost so that the aforesaid considerable status for human body will be incurred.
A preferable ratio of calcium existing in cells, blood and bones is said to be about 1:10,000:100,000,000. Calcium existing in such ratio in cells, blood and bones displays respectively the following behavior:
The actions of calcium in cells are: (i) sustaining whatever actions in cells and receiving information, and (ii) causing cleavage, multiplication, movement, secretion, excitement, and metabolism of cells.
In blood, calcium exists in an amount of 10,000 times of the cells and displays the following behavior: (i) activating heart and brain, controlling the action of cells and receiving information; (ii) transporting calcium everywhere in body, and (iii) maintaining calcium in blood at all time at a definite concentration.
A calcium value saved in bones occupies 99% of the total calcium and displays the following behavior: (i) supporting body and making bones strong, and (ii) in case of the calcium concentration in blood being decreased, dissolving calcium from bones by the aid of parathyroid hormones thereby supplementing the lacked portion and maintaining calcium in blood at a definite concentration.